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Gombak, 18 August 2021. The Media and Communications Law Research Unit, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws successfully organised a summer virtual class on Personal Data Protection (PDP) law, featuring Professor Abu Bakar Munir, an Adjunct Professor at the Kulliyyah. The theme of his lecture was “EU GDPR vs Asian Laws”, analysing the development of personal data protection legislations in several countries in Asia and examining how they fare against the provisions of the European Union General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

In his lecture, Abu Bakar Munir notes that the EU GDPR, passed in 2016 but enforced in 2018, has now become the “gold standard” in the world’s governance of personal data processing. At various extent and depth, countries in the world have looked into the provisions of this European Regulations to emulate or improve their own national legislations. Malaysia and many countries in Asia are not exceptions.

Addressing over a hundred audience from IIUM community and public, Abu Bakar Munir highlighted in some details how the laws (and draft laws) in eleven countries fare in comparison to the EU standard. The PDP laws discussed were those from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. In addition, he also discussed three legislative drafts from Indonesia, India and China. This comparative analysis is both useful and timely, as many new PDP laws are now being introduced in this region. For Malaysia, this vast area is certainly critical not only in relation to the protection of rights of individuals but also to ensure the nation’s digital economy grows on the right track.

The lecture, which was opened to public, attracted a massive interest from academic, government and industries, both from Malaysia and abroad including Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Korea, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Mauritania, UAE and the United Kingdom. Conveying the appreciation from Dean Prof Farid Sufian Shuaib, the event coordinator Dr. Sonny Zulhuda hosted the programme and moderated the Q & A session. At the last part of the lecture, the event was very interactive with dozens of questions posed by participants that stimulated a very lively discussion. 

The responses given by participants after the event were positive. Avtaran Singh, a partner in Gan, Lau & Associates Malaysia reckoned that the lecture was informative and insightful, thanking the organiser for having such an event. IIUM law postgraduate Alaa Sakka said he benefited a lot from the lecture is it helps him in writing his dissertation. Meanwhile, Nor Afiza from the Malaysian Personal Data Protection Department (JPDP) noted It was a commendable initiative by AIKOL to conduct such a webinar on this topic. Karamjit Singh from MYNIC also noted that the presentation was comprehensive and thanked the organiser of the event. 

Towards the end of the lecture, both Prof. Abu Bakar Munir and Dr. Sonny Zulhuda reiterated that issues of personal data protection law are far from settled. New legal challenges stemming from digitalisation and “datafication” would certainly require new set of skills to be grabbed and learned by students and professionals. Equipped with this new skill set, the students and professionals are more equipped and competitive in serving the society. 

(First reported by Dr Sonny Zul Huda)